*Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction. The filing deadline for Greeley for a Stronger Economy is Friday. This story has been updated to reflect that. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect date for the filing deadline and incorrectly stated the group had violated campaign finance laws.

A Denver-based independent expenditure committee that has spent more than any other entity on the Greeley City Council campaign has yet to file its donor report, contradicting the Greeley City Clerk's guidance on reporting deadlines.

The committee, Greeley for a Stronger Economy, has spent nearly $65,000 on television ads, mailers and other advertising, including the most recent mailers portraying three city council candidates as puppets of U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., who donated money to three council candidates.

The committee has not yet been required to disclose its revenue sources.

A spokeswoman for the committee, Cinamon Watson, said the committee's filing isn't due until Friday.

After several attack-style ads portraying him as a puppet master in Greeley politics, Polis on Tuesday was eager to weigh in. In a prepared statement, Polis said he was proud to donate to candidates he said will help build a strong economy for Greeley families.

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"The question we'd all like answered is: Why are anonymous special interests from Denver spending more than $50,000 for their candidates, and what do they expect from Greeley in return?" according to a statement from Polis.

"Boulder Congressman Jared Polis wants his puppets on the Greeley City Council," the mailer reads.

The candidates took issue with the more negative tone of the recent mailers, with Suniga responding via email with a prepared statement.

"Secretive, dark, special-interest money coming out of Denver is using outright lies and dirty tactics to deceive Greeley voters," Suniga said. "This group is engaging in a spending frenzy in order to purchase control of our city."

Suniga went on to say she is fighting to keep control where it should be: with the Greeley community.

Greeley City Councilwomen Rochelle Galindo and Sandi Elder have called the shift in campaign tenor troubling, with Galindo saying the posture of Vetesy — a Purple Heart recipient who walks with two canes — looked bad.

"One of my first thoughts was, 'Wow,' " Galindo said. "It probably wasn't intentional. But they did a bad job putting him in that position on the mailer."

Watson said the depiction of Vetesy was not intentional and was meant only as a depiction of a puppet.

"We have great respect for those who served our country," Watson said via email.

Still, Vetesy took offense even to being portrayed as a puppet. He said he's never met Polis, although he, like Suniga and Longwell, accepted a $500 campaign donation from the congressman and Colorado governor hopeful.

"It's disgusting they would feel it necessary to treat me like that," Vetesy said. "It's a lowlife approach."

Neither Elder nor Galindo are up for election this year. Both support Suniga for the at-large seat. Elder said if she was being supported by such a group, she would publicly condemn it.

"Everybody has a right to support their candidates," Elder said. "But if you target someone, it's not nice. It doesn't feel good."

The Tribune reached out to Gates, Mirick, Payton and Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons condemned the tactics of the Denver-based group in the strongest terms, saying he has every intention of running a clean campaign and suggesting the support for him from Greeley for a Stronger Economy could actually hurt his campaign because of the negative tactics. Gates and Mirick said they don't do negative campaigning, but both previously were thankful for the extra exposure from the group, saying they'd thank whoever was behind it if and when they found out. Payton couldn't be reached for comment.

Greeley for a Stronger Economy has so far spent $64,843 supporting its four chosen candidates, using that money for online advertising, mail pieces and what's thought to be the first TV ad for a municipal election in Greeley's history. Its spending has topped that of all 11 city council candidates combined. The group is prohibited by law from coordinating with the candidates it supports.

The group has hit Suniga, Longwell and Vetesy hard on Polis following a Tribune story detailing $500 donations from Polis to each of the three candidates' campaigns. Suniga and Longwell also earned donations from the Weld County Democratic Party.

While those donations have been public for weeks, with another round of disclosures due Friday, the donors behind Greeley for a Stronger Economy haven’t been released yet.

Here's what we do know.

Greeley for a Stronger Economy shares a Denver address with Blueprint Strategies, a strategic communications firm formed a year ago and run by current and former political, oil and gas, and business communications professionals. Its registered agent, Katie Kennedy, runs filings for dozens of mostly Republican campaign committees.

Another spokeswoman, DeAndrea Arndt, is the co-president of Republican Women of Weld County and president of a pro-fracking citizens group called Erie Forward! When asked a variety of questions, including whether Greeley for a Stronger Economy was funded by oil and gas industry money, Arndt didn't answer.

Galindo said she sees irony in the group's message.

"This group is spending (thousands of dollars) on attack ads against the candidates I have been supporting, saying Boulder is trying to influence the election," Galindo said. "In actuality, it's a Denver-based group trying to influence our municipal election. I just find irony in that."

— Tyler Silvy covers government and politics for The Greeley Tribune. Reach him at tsilvy@greeleytribune.com. Connect with him at Facebook.com/TylerSilvy or @TylerSilvy on Twitter.

Spending to date

The independent expenditure committee Greeley for a Stronger Economy has so far spent $64,843 on the Greeley City Council race. Here’s a breakdown: